Television Hill

Don Scott was anchoring the noon news from a rain-swept street corner when a truck ran over a power cord and left only his voice on the air. Marianne Bannister and Rod Daniels anchored the 6 p.m. news from a makeshift set the color of Aqua-Velva. Kai Jackson and Sally Thorner did the 5 p.m. news from the studios of competitors.That's how Baltimore's TV news looked yesterday, as personnel at WBAL, Channel 11, and WJZ, Channel 13, soldiered on with 12 tons of metal dangling precariously above their studios.

Hill Harper is perhaps best known for his characters on television shows such as “CSI: NY” and the cable series “Covert Affairs.” Yet the actor came to Baltimore to tackle a different role: working to help incarcerated individuals across the country - particularly young African-American men. "To me, this is the issue of our time," said Harper ,who spent Sunday speaking at two city churches - Bethel AME and Empowerment Temple AME -...

Edward A. Russell Jr., a Television Hill stalwart whose ready smile cheered WBAL colleagues for more than half a century, died of cancer Tuesday at Joseph Richey Hospice -- little more than two weeks after his retirement as reproduction manager for the radio and TV stations. The Lochearn resident was 71. Born in Baltimore and raised on Rutland Avenue, he was a 1951 graduate of Dunbar High School and attended Loyola College. Mr. Russell was hired in 1952 as a $35-a-week mail clerk at WBAL, when its studios were at Charles and 26th streets.

Glenn H. Lahman, a pioneering television broadcast chief engineer who never lost his affection for old tube radios, died of cancer Oct. 10 at his Annapolis home. He was 86. Born in Bucyrus, Ohio, he left a farming community for the Valparaiso, Ind., Technical Institute, an engineering school. He then joined the Army and served in Europe during World War II. He landed at Normandy in July 1944 while in the Second Armored Division and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge. In later years, Mr. Lahman wore his original master sergeant uniform in the St. Patrick's Day Parade and in the Annapolis Memorial Day Parade.

Glenn H. Lahman, a pioneering television broadcast chief engineer who never lost his affection for old tube radios, died of cancer Oct. 10 at his Annapolis home. He was 86. Born in Bucyrus, Ohio, he left a farming community for the Valparaiso, Ind., Technical Institute, an engineering school. He then joined the Army and served in Europe during World War II. He landed at Normandy in July 1944 while in the Second Armored Division and later fought in the Battle of the Bulge. In later years, Mr. Lahman wore his original master sergeant uniform in the St. Patrick's Day Parade and in the Annapolis Memorial Day Parade.

Hill Harper is perhaps best known for his characters on television shows such as “CSI: NY” and the cable series “Covert Affairs.” Yet the actor came to Baltimore to tackle a different role: working to help incarcerated individuals across the country - particularly young African-American men. "To me, this is the issue of our time," said Harper ,who spent Sunday speaking at two city churches - Bethel AME and Empowerment Temple AME -...

The candelabra-like tower atop Television Hill has been a Baltimore landmark for nearly 40 years.Soaring 1,319 feet into the Northwest Baltimore sky, 730 feet above the high ground of Television Hill, and visible from almost any location in the metropolitan area, the transmission tower has been broadcasting the signals of stations WJZ-TV, WBAL-TV and WMAR-TV since August 1959.From its heights, there are spectacular views of the surrounding city and counties as well as the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore.

THE 1968 riots rank with the 1904 fire that wiped out much of the downtown business district and the state legislature's 1947 vote to prevent the city from annexing additional land as major events that changed the course of history for Baltimore this century.In the early hours, the unrest didn't seem like a momentous event. The city was relatively quiet after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis on the evening of #F Thursday, April 4. But by April 6, sporadic, isolated incidents had gained momentum.

One look at its anchor team lets you know that Channel 45 (WBFF) is going to take a different tack when it puts on its 10 o'clock news.In a city where the memory of years of ratings domination by gray-haired Jerry Turner is still affecting hiring and firing decisions, Fox-affiliated Channel 45 is going with a cast that looks like a new version of "The Rookies."The oldest member of the station's weekday and weekend anchor teams, who were introduced to the press yesterday, is 35. The two main co-anchors are 30 and 33. The two weather people are 25 and 28. There won't be too many gray hairs on the station's still-to-be-unveiled set.According to news director Mark Pimentel, who does have a few gray hairs though he's just 34, it's not a matter of age, but of mind-set.

By David Folkenflik and David Folkenflik,SUN STAFF | September 12, 2003

Unlikely as it may sound, a subpoena to testify before a grand jury can be a badge of honor for a reporter - a sign that she's gotten the goods or angered the powers that be. Not in this case. Katie Leahan, a reporter and weekend anchor who often covers police and crime for WJZ-TV, is among those who have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury looking into the handling of a secret fund by Edward T. Norris when he was Baltimore's police commissioner. Questions have centered on Norris' use of the fund to pay for thousands of dollars in gifts, meals and trips for himself, friends and colleagues.

Edward A. Russell Jr., a Television Hill stalwart whose ready smile cheered WBAL colleagues for more than half a century, died of cancer Tuesday at Joseph Richey Hospice -- little more than two weeks after his retirement as reproduction manager for the radio and TV stations. The Lochearn resident was 71. Born in Baltimore and raised on Rutland Avenue, he was a 1951 graduate of Dunbar High School and attended Loyola College. Mr. Russell was hired in 1952 as a $35-a-week mail clerk at WBAL, when its studios were at Charles and 26th streets.

Don Scott was anchoring the noon news from a rain-swept street corner when a truck ran over a power cord and left only his voice on the air. Marianne Bannister and Rod Daniels anchored the 6 p.m. news from a makeshift set the color of Aqua-Velva. Kai Jackson and Sally Thorner did the 5 p.m. news from the studios of competitors.That's how Baltimore's TV news looked yesterday, as personnel at WBAL, Channel 11, and WJZ, Channel 13, soldiered on with 12 tons of metal dangling precariously above their studios.

The candelabra-like tower atop Television Hill has been a Baltimore landmark for nearly 40 years.Soaring 1,319 feet into the Northwest Baltimore sky, 730 feet above the high ground of Television Hill, and visible from almost any location in the metropolitan area, the transmission tower has been broadcasting the signals of stations WJZ-TV, WBAL-TV and WMAR-TV since August 1959.From its heights, there are spectacular views of the surrounding city and counties as well as the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore.

So you're a producer of the early morning news program on Channel 13 and you're waiting for Anita Nall to show up at your station for an exclusive interview.You look up at a TV monitoring the competition, and there is Baltimore's Olympic heroine being interviewed on Channel 11 -- live -- just a few hundred yards away down Television Hill!When the staff at WJZ saw their star on WBAL yesterday, they reacted immediately."They dispatched an envoy who politely reminded us where we were supposed to be in the first place, up at Channel 13 being interviewed by Marty Bass," said John Nall, Anita's father.